Means for binding wire or the like



Jane 14, 1936. H. w. MORRIS MEANS FOR BINDING WIRE OR THE LIKE Filed Dec 18, 1929 from its line of cut.

Patented Jan. 14, 1936 UNITED STATES Means son BINDING WIRE on THE LIKE Harold W. Morris, Waltham, Mass., assignor, by

mcsne assignments, to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabethport, N, J a corporation of New Jersey Application December 18, 1929, Serial No. 414,996

l Claims. (Cl. 112-2) When insulated wire havinga textile covering, either forming part of the insulation or as a jacket therefor, is out there is a tendency for the textile material to fray or ravel out back In order to prevent this the end portion of the textile about the wire is often wound with an adhesive tape or strand material. This winding operation is relatively slow and troublesome and requires securing of the end of the winding material as by adhesion or tying or the like.

In. accordance with the present invention the prevention of the raveling out is accomplished by loops of thread passed about the wire just back of the cut end of the textile and fastened together, as by being interlocked with each other in chain stitch formation. Not only may this type of wrapping be employed to prevent raveling out, but it is also applicable for securing a plurality of wires or similar strand material together, or for both securing a plurality of wires and preventing raveling out of the textile with the same wrapping. This winding by loops of thread may be done rapidly by the use of a sewing machine of the button sewing type, either lock stitch or chain stitch, as may be desired.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is a side elevation partly broken away of a button sewing machine equipped to accomplish. the purpose of this invention.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows in perspective a pair of wire ends bound together in a manner'to prevent iaveling out of the fabric portions of the insula- Figure l is a perspective of the work holder.

Referring to the drawing, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a well known button sewing machine of the chain stitch type such as is shown more in detail in the Lyons Patent No. 1,671,197, granted May 29, 1928. This machine has a base I from which extends upwardly and forwardly a sewing arm 2 having a head 3 at its free end in which is mounted for reciprocation and pivotal movement about an axis 4 a needle bar 5. This needle bar is given its reciprocating motions by a rock shaft 6 connected to the needle bar by the pivoted arms 1 and 8. The lateral motion of the needle bar about the pivot 1 is produced by rocking of an arm 9, adjustably pivoted at it! to determine the amplitude of lateral motion, as is more fully disclosed in the Lyons patent. In the base is a suitable looper mechanism (not herein shown but shown in the Lyons patent) which cooperates with the needle l5 carried by the needle bar 5 to form chain stitches. In place of the usual bottom clamp employed with button sewing machines of this type, a special form of work holder indicated as a Whole at 20 is employed. This holder as shown comprises a base 2| perforated for the passage of the needle and which is pivotally connected as at 22 through a bracket 5 arm 24 to a slide 220, this pivot being horizontally disposed so that the base 2| may be raised when desired as by pulling on a chain 25 se-.- cured at its lower end to a block 26 bolted to the base 2|. This chain may be pulled upwardly by any suitable means, but as herein shown its upper end is pivoted to an arm 21 carried by a rock shaft 28. This rock shaft is normally held in such an angular position as to permit the base 2| to rest in contact with the usual throat plate 21 of the machine, as by means of a coil spring 29. This rock shaft 28 may be turned so as to raise the work holder by any suitable means, for example, as disclosed in the Lyons patent by means of a pull chain extending to a suitable treadle mechanism.

At the other end of the base 2| are positioned a pair of upstanding wall members 3!! and 3| spaced on opposite sides of the needle path and the perforation in the base. The wall member 3! is shown as of angular shape having a flange 32 which is shown as adjustably secured to the upper face of the base 2| as by screws 33, passing through laterally extending slots 33!! in the flange 32. The wall member 3|] is shown as secured to the base 2| as by means of screws 34 extending through slots 340 in the base flange 35 of this member but they are not turned tight down so as to permit the member 30 to be moved toward and from the member 3|. This 35 member 3|] is yieldingly held toward the member 36 as far as is permitted by the slots 3%!) as by means of springs 36 seated in suitable sockets therein and in mating sockets in an abutment 0 plate 4i secured to the adjacent edge of the base 2|. These wall members have their upper faces curved outwardly away from each other to facilitate the insertion of the wires which it is desired to wrap therebetween. For instance, as shown in Figure 3, two wires as 45 and 46 may be placed in superposed relation between the wall members 30 and 3|, the position of the wall member 3| being so adjusted that the wall member 30 must yield slightly to permit 50 the wires to be inserted, whereby after they are inserted they are yieldingly held in position.

If it is desired to bind a plurality of wires together, they are inserted between the wall members 30 and 3|, and While the work holder rests against the cloth plate 21, stitching is effected to cause loops of thread to be passed around the wires alternately in opposite directions as the needle bar is swung laterally from side to side, the loops bein fixed together on the lower face of the group of wires which are positioned between the walls 36 and 3|. The confronting faces of these walls, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, are recessed as at and 5| to permit the needle to pass down on opposite sides of the wire. It will also be noted that these recesses are at intermediate portions of the length of these walls and are of substantial extent rengthwise and the needle perforation in the base 2! is similarly elongated. .This is to permit the sewing instrumentalities and the work holder to be moved relatively progressively step by step in a direction axially of the wires during the sewing operation so as to spread the loops over a substantial length of the wires, thus producing a flat binding thereof for a substantial distance. This relative movement to spread the loops along the length of the wire may be produced, as in the machine illustrated, by moving the work holder in a direction at right angles to the ateral motion of the needle between successive strokes, and this may be accomplished by the use of a cam member 52 (see Figure 2) having a cam path 53 in which rides a' follower 54 carried by an arm 55 on a rock shaft 5'6. As shown this rock shaft imparts rocking motion toa slotted link 5? in the manner clearly disclosed in the Lyons patent hereinbefore re.- ferred to, which is adjustably connected to move the slide 220. The cam path is so cut as to move the slide 220 slightly between successive stitches in one direction during the sewing strokes so that the stitches are laid close together along the wires and then to return the slide 220 to its starting position at the end of the stitching cycle preparatory to a succeeding operation.

As is usual in machines of this type, and as is disclosed in the Lyons patent, the last two strokes of the needle bar may be made in the same lateral position of the needle bar thus producing a knotting needle stroke which effectually ties the thread at the end of the stitching cycle. After the stitching cycle is completed the machine automatically stops as is fully disclosed in the Lyons patent, whereupon the work holder may be raised by pulling the chain 25, causing the thread to be broken adjacent to the knot,

1 thus completing the binding of the wires. Where the insulation is cut back on electrical wires, this binding of the wires either individually or in groups may be produced just back of the cut edge of the textile portion which effectually prevents unraveling thereof. This binding, therefore, may be used either to prevent unraveling of the textile, or to bind wires or other strand materials together, or to accomplish both the binding of a plurality of wires together and the prevention of unraveling of the fabric covering by the same binding loops. For example, in Figure 3, the two wires 45 and 46 are shown as wrapped together by wrapping loops which extend in a layer just back of the cut edge 69 of the fabric covering 6| for the insulation 62. The successive loops of thread which are passed alternately about opposite sides of the wire are shown as interlocked in chain stitch formation as at 64. It should be evident, however, that the wrapping might be done on a lock stitch machine by merely substituting for the usual button clamp the work holder herein shown, and causing this work holder and the sewing instrumentalities to be moved during the sewing operation so as to distribute the wrapping along the length of the wire or other strand material which it is desired to wrap.

From the foregoing description of certain embodiments of this invention shown, it should be evident to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications might be made withiout departing from the spirit or scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A work holder for a sewing machine comprising a base, a pair of angle members each having a flange supported on said 'base and together presenting a pair of spaced upstanding wall members between which strands of work may be placed, means fixing one of said angle members to said base, an abutment member secured to said base adjacent to the other of said angle members, springs between said abutment member and said other angle member to press said other angle member toward said fixed angle member, said wall members being recessed on their confronting faces between their ends to provide space between them and the work for the passage of a sewing needle.

2. A machine of the class described, comprising sewing instrumentalities including a reciprocatcry needle, work holding means comprising a pair of walls spaced on opposite sides of the needle path and between which strand material may be placed, and means for relatively moving the work-holding means and needle during a sewing operation in opposite directions transversely of the space between said walls and progressively lengthwise of said walls so as to cause said needle to lay loops of thread alternately at opposite sides of the work and progressively lengthwise of the work between said pair of wails, said walls having horizontally elongated portions intermediate the ends of said walls spaced apart more widely than the ends of said walls and defining, with the work, spaces on opposite sides of the work for the passage of the needle throughout the extent of said progressive lengthwise movement.

3. A work-holder for a sewing machine, comprising a horizontally disposed base perforated for the passage of a needle, and a pair of members secured to said base and presenting walls upstanding from said base on opposite sides of said needle perforation, one of said members being secured in horizontally yielding spaced relation to the other of said members and the other of said members being rigidly fixed to said base, each of said members having a recessed face between its ends which has a horizontal length greater than a plurality of conventional needle diameters.

4. A sewing machine for covering stranded work having, in combination, stitch-forming mechanism including a vertically reciprocatory needle, a loop-taker, a work-holder havin pairs of opposed work-engaging elements for positioning engagement with horizontally disposed stranded work at points spaced longitudinally of the work and having intermediate said spaced points means presenting opposed side-walls spaced apart a distance greater than the width of the stranded work positioned by said pairs of work-engaging elements, means for relatively jogging the needle and work-holder across the stranded work between said side-walls, and means for relatively shifting the needle and work-holder progressively longitudinally of the work between said side-walls.

HAROLD W. MORRIS. 

